Mask
by ThetravellerKin
Summary: Life for natsume continues... Though it will never be the same... Just a plot bunny hopping into my mind and I finally plucked up the courage to write a fanfic of my favourite anime:D
1. Chapter 1

Ello Ello! This is my first time writing a fanfic :)

I hope you enjoy it:D

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A boy with dusty blond hair held his legs closed to his chest under the slide , his heart thumping wildly in his ribcage as tears streamed down his small face flushed red from crying.  
"Liar~Liar~Liar Natsume~" a boy around the age of six started singing as the others laughed at the little boy.  
Upon hearing this , Natsume held himself tighter , his sobs so violent that it shook his entire small frame.  
"Take this you liar!" another boy with dark brown hair kicked the sand at the little boy who buried his head even further into his body.  
_why?why?_ the little boy thought to himself , his heart heavy with sadness and fear.  
"So?Is this three eye monster going to come out and eat you?"the other kids starts laughing when the boy with dark brown hair poked fun at Natsume as he peered slightly at the others , fear overflowing from his eyes.  
Since that day , he realised something.  
_There are some things that cannot be told. Things that, no matter what, I must keep to myself. Because the risks are simply too high._  
_Sometimes it is better to lie and be considered truthful,then to tell the truth and be called a liar._

_**Since young, I've been able to see strange things. The things I see are probably what other people call "Spirits/Youkai"**_

Natsume opened his eyes and stared at the blue skies filled with white fluffy cotton candy-like clouds.  
He raised his arms to cover his golden-brown eyes with slitted irises and a sigh escaped from his lips.  
"What's wrong? Another nightmare?" The overweight cat asked as he washed his face by licking his paw and swiping it over his enormous face.  
"Well…it was just a memory of the past…"Natsume trailed off and put on a soft smile, a habit made over the years. He frowned slightly when the cat narrowed its eyes at him.  
"Really! I'm fine "he chuckled nervously as he looked around the forest, not wanting to make any eye contact. He hated it when he made others worried about him. Especially to those who were dear to him.  
The cat gave a sigh and shook his head.  
"Nyanko-sensei , thank you" The boy scratch the head of the cat gently and picked him up as he slowly made his way out of the forest while admiring the scenery.

Natsume Yuujinchou & Characters don't belong to me~

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_**Since young, I've been able to see strange things. The things I see are probably what other people call "Spirits/Youkai"**_


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm home~~" The window slide opened, revealing a drunk fat cat.  
It looked around the room groggily and jumped clumsily, its face cushioning its body when it landed.  
"ughhh…"The cat looked up slightly and found Natsume sleeping face right in front of it.  
"WHAT?! Don't tell me you gave away another name in the Book of Friends?!" The cat howled and start hitting the poor boy laying on the floor with its pudgy hands.  
"Really!By the time I get the Book of Friends , it will be empty!"  
"Sensei…." Natsume turned and shifted , his back now facing the drunk cat, mumbled.  
"What"  
"You stink"  
"You ungrateful brat! Do you know how hard it is to be your bodyguard?!huh?!"  
"Madara-Sama~" Two other demons in the form of an Ox and a one-eyed denizen slide opened the window and the smell of booze filled the air.  
"Oi , why are you two here"  
"You stupid ugly cat , I called them" Another demon in the form of a female , dressed in a purple with blue pattern traditional clothes entered the room.  
"What! You old granny!"  
Sparks flew between the two denizens of the demon world as the other two demons started cheering.  
"Hinoe…What brought you here?"Natsume dragged himself to sit up and face the female demon who was glaring at Nyanko-sensei , even though his eyelids were getting heavy by every minute.  
"Well , I heard something interesting and I thought that you might want to know about it too Natsume"  
Natsume tilt his head slightly , his curiosity level rising.  
"Well , I heard that there are two humans helping out the small youkais , even preventing a exorcist from hurting them."  
"There are others who can see too?"  
"Well , I'm not so sure about that, I tried to test those two humans , but it seems like that they can't see me"  
"oh…"Disappointment creep into his golden-brown eyes and he could not help but felt his heart dropping.  
"Natsume! Don't go get yourself involve stupid things like this! I'm hungry, go buy me some Manjuu~"The cat sang happily as he ordered the Sandy hair boy to buy him more snacks.  
"Ok ,ok"Natsume shook his head slightly as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

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_**Since young, I've been able to see strange things. The things I see are probably what other people call "Spirits/Youkai"**_


	3. Chapter 3

To blood-doll-aishiteru : Hello! Thanks for the review and the follow:) I'm still learning how to use FanFiction tools , so I'm not sure how to reply to your review :(

To umbreonblue: Thanks for the favourite & the follow:)

Hope you guys enjoy the stories:)

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"Manju~Manju! ~" The cat sang happily as he latched himself on the sandy hair boy shoulder who was chuckling at the comical sight.

"Sensei….We have to buy the groceries that Touko-san tasked me to do first" He gently reprimanded the cat.  
Nyanko-sensei pouted slightly upon hearing that. A dark cloud loomed over its head and it sigh dramatically. Natsume chuckled when he saw that but he grew silently quickly as thoughts ran through his mind.

The vast blue skies tinged with violent loomed above the two and early-morning frost greeted them in a show of lacy white of snow that was scattered on the ground.

The cold wind gently blew and ripple through Natsume dusty blond hair. A small hill laid on the side of the concrete road, filled with trees that were nearly bare, tinged with white, the leaves scattered on the earth.

Usually Natsume would take notice of the changes in the seasons, which would be taken into his golden orbs with delight but Natsume was distracted with questions that ran fervently in his mind. He walked slowly on the hard concrete road, his footsteps was the only sound that echoes in the silence that hung between the two.

"Still thinking about Hinoe words?"  
"Yeah…"

"Do you think she's referring to Tanuma and Taki?" Worry was evident in Natsume eyes.

"I don't think so"

"Eh?"

"Well Tanuma can't really see, can he? Taki can only see us when we stepped into her circle. How can they defend the middle class spirits if they can't even see them? They wouldn't know that they are under attack either." The cat yawned lazily and urged Natsume to move on to buy his favourite food.

Natsume gave a sigh of relief. He got really worried when he thought that his friends got involved. Even though the spirits were harmless in this incident if they were the ones that helped, they might get hurt in the next attempt.

Now that he knows his friends are not involved, he got curious. Who protected the middle class spirits? Like Nyanko-Sensei said, to protect the spirits, they must able to know that it was under attack. But if they could see, why did they ignore Hinoe?

**_Why?_**

"Oi Natsume"

Natsume snapped his head up when he felt the cat pudgy paws on his face.

"Wha- Ouch! Stop slapping me with your paws!"

"O-Oi, do you think that boy going stop running?"

"Huh?" Natsume turned his head to the direction Nyanko-Sensei was pointing at.

A boy ran down the hill, his onyx hair whipped away from his face, showing his black eyes that were filled with fear.

"E-Eh... Eh?!"

"Oi Natsume! What are you standing around here for! Watch out!"

"ARHHHHHH!"

"ARHHHHHH!"

"OOF!" The boy running slammed into Natsume, the both of them landing on their butt.

"Watch where you are going boy!" Nyanko-Sensei hissed angrily

"Sorry…ouch..." Pain flashed down his back, causing the boy to cringe and gave a sigh.

Natsume rubbed his head and got a closer look at the boy. He looks around 15 to 16 years old. A long black coat hung on his small frame and fingerless black leather gloves wrapped around his hands. His face glisten with sweat and fear hung around him like a perfume.

"Stand back" The boy stood in front of Natsume , his eyes narrowed with concentration and his left hand gripping several pieces of paper with illegible words scrawled on it , his right hands holding a small white bottle adorned with blue swirls.

Natsume stood up shakily, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, a loud roar filled with hatred echoes in the air, causing Natsume to flinch and Nyanko-Sensei bristled.

A dark shadow suddenly appeared in front of the boy and loomed above them. It was several feet higher than them, and there were pale marsh lights burning where you would expect to see eyes, and the fetid stench of carrion rolled off it.

Slowly, the boy stretch out his left arm and pointed the papers at the spirit and held the small bottle aloft, crying out a chant, his eyes closed in concentration.

The spirit flinched, and fell backwards, trying to escape. Alas, it was too late and it was soon sucked into the small bottle.

Natsume eyes were wide in shock and the cat beside narrowed its eyes at the boy. The same question ran through their brain as they watch the boy plugged the bottle.

**_An exorcist?!_**

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**_Since young, I've been able to see strange things. The things I see are probably what other people call "Spirits"_**


	4. Chapter 4

Hello guys:) My exams are over~So I will be able to update this story at a faster speed :D FREEEDDOOOMMM! well unless my part-time job is going to drain my energy , then well...hahaha...

Though the stories will be quite..short. My short attention span doesn't allow me to write long stori- oohh a butterfly...

Thanks for reading :)

To blood-doll-aishiteru: I'm glad you've found it interesting:)

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The spirit flinched, and fell backwards, trying to escape. Alas, it was too late and it was soon sucked into the small bottle.

Natsume eyes were wide in shock and the cat beside narrowed its eyes at the boy. The same question ran through their brain as they watch the boy plugged the bottle.

**_An exorcist?!_**

* * *

Natsume continues to stare at the boy in shocked while debating if he should grab Nyanko-sensei and run away. He was going to pick the cat up when the boy turned around and his onyx eyes bore at the fortune cat lookalike.

"M-Meow…" Nyanko-Sensei twitched nervously, hoping that he could fool the bo-, exorcist that was staring intently at him.

First the boy's shoulders start shaking, and then he began to snicker. He bit his lip harder and his arm wrapped around his stomach. Unable to control it any longer, he tilted his head back and burst into a full rambunctious laughter. It was loud and clear and there were tears running down his cheek.

Natsume and Nyanko-Sensei stared at the boy and frozed when he stopped laughing and turned his gaze on them.

"Heh…Really , trying to act like a normal cat after lashing out at me for colliding into both of you…hahaha" He continues to chuckle as he tries to take a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Though you are a pretty powerful for an ugly cat?" His arms snaked around his middle and bit his lips again to prevent himself from laughing at his own joke.

"What was that?! There's a human that adore my form!" Nyanko-Sensei retorts and flashes out his claws, trying to look intimidating. Laughter erupted from the boy's mouth and he collapses in a fit of laughter.

"Are you going to h-hurt Sensei?" Natsume voice was filled with fear and he held the cat closer to him.

"Huh?" The boy frowned at the direction of Natsume thoughts. "What makes you think that I was going to seal him?"

"Because you're an exorcist, dumbass" A soft voice drifted into Natsume ears and a girl walked towards the boy, her caramel coloured hair with dark brown highlights rippling in the wind.

A pair of hazel orbs rimmed with black stared dully at him under her long bangs before it flickered to the boy that was grinning.

"I apologize for his weird actions. He escaped from the psychiatric hospital"

"H-Hey! Don't insult me!"

"Come on, we need to get you back in there" She walked towards the boy and started to drag him away as he protest loudly.

"Aww come on! He can see the spirits too! Don't tell me that you don't know that ugly cat is one!"

Her eyebrow arched at the boy's comment and stopped halfway. She gave a sigh and inclined her head slightly before turning around to look at the boy.

"I don't think that he would like to be associated with us. Matoba Clan would have caused him more trouble that he could ever want"

Natsume eyebrow shot up. "How…"

"I heard many things from the spirits and the Matoba Clan,and not forgetting the Natori clan too." A sigh escaped from her lips as she mentioned the two clans. They were bothering her more than usual, requesting audience to meet with her every other day to discuss about the sandy hair coloured boy that was standing right in front of her.

Natsume flinched and stood back slightly, his eyes filled with shock. The cat in his arms was looking intently at the female, trying to find out her intention.

"Who…are you" Wariness was evident in his voice.

"Follow me" She muttered under her breath and started walking.

The boy smiled at him before pulling Natsume in the same direction where the girl went.

"We are being followed, we'll tell you who we are and answer any of your questions later" He whispered to Natsume , his black orbs darting around. "Follow us" He added and motioned to Natsume to get into the black car that drove past them before turning around and stopped.

"Are you sure about this Natsume?" the cat asked quietly. "Though I can easily protect you if anything happens"

Natsume wavered slightly before giving a firm nod and the both of them disappeared into the black car with tinted windows.

**_This is the only way to know what is going on._**

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**_Since young, I've been able to see strange things. The things I see are probably what other people call "Spirits"_**


	5. Chapter 5

To blood-doll-aishiteru: XD I'm not sure why I made Natsume go into the car. If its me , I won't follow a stranger that easily eitherXD Maybe my opinion about Natsume is a innocent boy?XD

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"Are you sure about this Natsume?" the cat asked quietly. "Though I can protect you if anything happens"

Natsume wavered slightly before giving a firm nod and the both of them disappeared into the black car with tinted windows.

**_This is the only way to know what is going on._**

* * *

There is only one word to describe how Natsume felt now. Awkward.

He was sandwiched in between the two teenagers. The girl held a book in her hand, her head propped up by her arm that was leaning against the tinted window of the car. The boy was happily immersed in his music that was leaking and blaring out from his silver headphones. The only noise in the silence that hung in the air was the sound of the engine, humming softly in the background.

Natsume squirmed slightly, not knowing what to do. His gaze dropped to the cat that was sleeping in his hold and chuckled quietly. It was amazing how the cat could fall asleep after sleeping for sixteen hours straight, and in this atmosphere too. And to think the cat promised him that it will protect him if anything happens.

As if sensing Natsume discomfort, the girl made a mark on her book before closing it and turning her head to face Natsume, her eyes dull as always. Natsume shifted upon her gaze and shrunk down slightly, almost as if trying to appear smaller.

"Natsume Takashi…is your name, am I right?"

Natsume lifted his head and gave a nod, though the smile on his face was strained. Tilting her head, the girl couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise.**_ Am I that scary?_**

"My name is Yuuko. The guy beside you is bakahaya-kun"

Upon hearing the insult that was directed at the boy sitting beside him, Natsume blinked in confusion before his eyes twinkle in amusement. He thought the girl was someone who will hurt him or the cat that continues to slumber soundly in his arms.

When she noticed the nervousness around Natsume eased slightly, her eyes widened slightly in surprise, not expecting her insult to help Natsume to relax. When she saw Natsume directed a smile at her, she gave tried to give one of her own. However it was twitchy and weak, making it obvious that she have not smile for a long time.

"Bakahaya said that we'll answer your questions" She peered dully at the boy beside Natsume and crumpled a piece of paper that was lying around on the floor, before throwing it at the boy. Natsume raised his eyebrows, thinking that it was weird to have pieces of paper in the car. The boy eyebrow twitched in annoyance before taking off his headphone.

"You could have just told me that you wanted to talk…"

"I doubt you can hear me, bakahaya-kun"

"It's Kazehaya!" The boy screamed in exasperation.

"Well, bakahaya-kun, Natsume-san has some questions for us." A smirk graced her lips when she saw Kazehaya twitched in irritation and huffed before turning to Natsume.

"So, what are those questions?" Her hazel orbs stared at Natsume dully.

"You guys are exorcists, am I right?" Natsume asked hesitantly, his grip tightening on the cat that continues to sleep soundly.

"Bakahaya-kun, answer" Yuuko smirked and flip opened her book once again. Well, it wasn't that she was unwilling to talk to Natsume; it's just that she felt tired. She didn't want to give Natsume vague or halfhearted answers but she knows that the boy has endless energy and will give Natsume the answers to his questions and perhaps additional information. That was the reason why she told Kazehaya to answer Natsume questions while she recharged herself by immersing in the book.

However Natsume thought that she might be offended by what he said or the way he acted. His shoulder slumped slightly and embarrassment welled up in his eyes. Noticing this, Kazehaya place a hand on his shoulder and gave Natsume a soft smile.

"Don't worry about it, she's just tired. Now, to answer your question…I am an exorcist but she's more like a necromancer."

"Necromancer?" Natsume tilted his head slightly, confused as to what Kazehaya meant.

"Well, to sum it up, they can do whatever exorcist does but with the additional ability to bring back the dead. But this lady here uses her power to banish or bring the spirits to their death when necessary. Also they have the ability to see the future". Kazehaya smiled when he saw Natsume absorbing the information. "People with this ability in the past were thought to be a witch".

Natsume gave a small nod, affirming Kazehaya that he could continue. Though, he was pretty shocked that spirits could actually die.

"Also, Yuuko is the head of the exorcist council. That's the reason was in contact with the two clans she mentioned earlier… which kind of sapped her energy away. She prefers her books over people after all." He grinned sheepishly while he fiddled with his phone to stop the music that was still playing. "Any more questions?"

Natsume eyes narrowed in fear. To say that he was shocked was an understatement. If Yuuko was the head of a council that has the same mindset as the Matoba clan, there would be a chance that he would be forced to join a clan and become an exorcist. He was determined not to have that happen.

"What does the exorcist council do?" Natsume asked cautiously, as if treading on eggshells. He is after all, sitting right next to a leader that might force him to do things against his will or even hurt him or people that are precious to him.

"Well, they set the rules to ensure that the exorcists are in line and do not do anything foolish, like eradicating the spirits or helping the spirits to destroy things in the human world." Kazehaya paused slightly and continued, "Jobs for exorcists also have to go through the council for examination before it is allowed to be put up to hire exorcists. I guess you could say that they are like the government in the exorcist world".

Natsume could feel the fear squeezing his heart. With those powers, if she wants Natsume to join, he wouldn't be able to do much. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he gathered his courage again to post another question.

"What did Matoba-san told Yuuko-san?"

Kazehaya froze and peered at Yuuko who was reading her book through her half-lidded orbs. She turned to Kazehaya, giving a small nod to show him that he could reveal the conversation between her and the Matoba Clan leader.

"Well… he told Yuuko that you have strong spiritual abilities and he wanted to bring you in and train you to become an exorcist. Though when Yuuko asked if you were willing to join, that guy merely smile and said that you will, soon that is." Kazehaya shivered at the thought of the Matoba clan leader smile. It was too creepy for him.

"What was Yuuko-san reply?" Natsume bit his lower lip as asked the question that was weighing on his mind.

"She gave him a straight 'no' and continues to read, you should have seen his face!" Kazehaya snickered while Natsume could feel all the tension unravelling around him and he gave a sigh. Now he could move on to the next question and satisfy his curiosity.

"Why are you telling me this?"

A grin spread across Kazehaya face and his eyes twinkled merrily.

"To piss the Matoba off" This was definitely not one of the answers that Natsume was expecting. He could feel a laughter threatening to slip out of his lips.

"Why?"

Yuuko hummed to herself before rolling her head to face Natsume and giving him an answer that caused Natsume to chuckle.

"Because we thought it would be interesting to do so"

Kazehaya snickered and shook his head slightly. "I think you should give a proper explanation Yuuko"

"That's your job, bakahaya" She replied dully and continues to read. Kazehaya tensed slightly before sticking out a tongue at her.

"We do not approve what the Matoba clan has been doing. Especially the part where they hurt the spirits for their own gain" Natsume could feel his heart thumping with happiness. He never thought they there were someone who had the same thoughts as he.

"Yuuko also wanted to meet you to find out if you were willing to join and if not, did the head of the Matoba clan threatened you." Guilt starts to well up inside Natsume. To think he thought the two teenagers would hurt him. He shook his head slightly and pushed the feeling to the back of his mind and continues with his questions.

"Why…why didn't you seal Nyanko-Sensei?"

Kazehaya huffed angrily. "We are not like those pests, we only seal those that cause trouble or have hurt humans, but not before understanding what was their reason for it".

Natsume blinked in surprise. He thought only Natori-san would seal those who had caused trouble or hurt humans, but before he had met Natsume, Natori had also held a burning anger towards the spirits and never hears them out. He thought that all exorcists wanted to get rid of the spirits, be it those who were living peacefully among the human race.

Yuuko tilted her head slightly and brush out a strand of hair that was blocking her view of her book. She blinked tiredly at the two, immediately understanding what was running in Natsume mind. Another sigh escaped her lips as she voiced out her opinion.

"People…they want to feel that they belong to a group and they want to feel that they are needed. You too, have felt the feeling of loneliness and sadness right, Natsume-san?" Yuuko muttered, her gaze not leaving her book. The two boys turned to look at Yuuko, their attention fully focused on her.

"Exorcists are the same… They are not human like the rest…but not spirits either. In the past and present, they are still face with rejections from both species alike and could never fit in. This would most probably be the reason why they hate the spirits so much. If the spirits were to disappear, they might be able to blend with the rest of the humanity, fit in with what many would consider 'normal'. "She gave a soft sigh, momentarily overwhelmed by the feeling of grief. As to why she felt that way, she couldn't understand fully either.

Silence continues to hang thickly in the air as the two boys ponder silently over what Yuuko said. The girl on the other hand, felt her eyes trailed back to her book. Natsume glanced at the girl before tilting his head down to look at the sleeping cat and pat its head gently. He was starting to feel sleepy, probably because he had been sitting in the same spot for almost half an hour and had nothing to do. He was starting to feel safe in the presence of the two, even though they had just met.

Maybe, he felt that the two holds the same view as him. Just maybe.

Soon he was drifting off, eyes shut, and his breathing beginning to even out and he fell asleep.


End file.
